I know what you're thinking 'She's started another multichaptered fic? At this rate Nai you'll never finish all your ongoing fics!' And quite frankly, that's probably right. But, I like to try and do the impossible, so why the hell not, yeah? Another point to note is that this is another AU only because I'm including an age gap of 3-4 years between Potter and Evans. Because I can do that.

This fic began as a oneshot and then I decided to build on that one shot and well... tada! The beginning oneshot was based off of this lovely gifset on tumblr made by thetroianwar. If you want to see the actual gifset then go on my profile, click the tumblr link and paste this: post/62930719509 right after it.

Artwork by Viria

Disclaimer: At this moment I own about ten dollars and a pair of socks.

Chapter 1

'Lilies Bloom at Night'

The Leaky Cauldron was a fraught of activity Friday evening, more so than usual. It seemed as though everyone and their uncle was out for a drink. All of the booths and tables were filled while at the bar, people were clamouring for more food and drink. The pretty blonde waitress found herself on her feet the entire evening, having to work both the floor and the bar due to the abnormal amount of people. She was carrying trays of Butterbeer, fish and chips and Firewhiskey back and forth the entire time. Every time someone left, there were at least three people queuing up for their table.

"Catherine! Table four needs another round of Ogden's!" yelled Tom the barkeep as he tended to those at the counter.

"I'm coming!" the blonde witch replied, as she tried to balance two trays at the same time. All in all, the entire building was a cacophony of noise. Pots banged and clashed, people yelled and hollered, bottles clinked and Catherine could have sworn that she even heard a few animals. The entire night she was running from the kitchen, to the main room, then to the bar, back out to the main room and then returning to the kitchen where the routine started back once more without a breather. It was times like this when Tom regretted only having three waitresses.

That was her schedule for the entire night. And when she did manage to find a few seconds of solace, Catherine found herself spending more time fending off unwanted advances than resting in itself. At this rate, she would soon be the one hollering for a shot of their strongest.

When her shift had finally finished, the witch untied her apron, bid farewell to the barkeep and silently swept out of the noisy bar, out into muggle London. She wrapped her cloak tightly around her and kept a firm hand on her wand. After walking for some time, she finally came to a desolate area where she was able to slip into the shadows and apparate to her flat, which was just outside of London.

No sooner had she stepped into the small apartment had a scarlet feather materialise in front of her, bearing a note.

Your presence is required next Tuesday at Hogwarts for a meeting at 6:00 pm. It would be lovely of you to bring some sugar quills.

The note bore no signature, but Catherine was easily able to tell who sent it. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared in a burst of flames, leaving nothing but the phoenix feather in its place. She quickly set aside the feather, and hurriedly cast the spells to ensure her protection. As soon as they were in their places, she waved her wand again, this time over herself.

No longer was there Catherine, the twenty something year old waitress at the Leaky Cauldron, but instead, Lily Evans, the eighteen year old Order of the Phoenix member. The previously nondescript blonde hair that was cut straight and short grew out, the long locks tangling themselves into curls as they turned deep red while the aquamarine eyes lost their blue tint and became bright green once more. Her face gained a slight bit more of its childish roundness and her body became slender and soft once more.

A surge of excitement flowed through her veins. This would be her first official Order meeting. Dumbledore had inducted her on the eve of her departure from Hogwarts and told her that her first 'mission' was to gather information about which side people are on. And what better way to do so than to get a job undercover at the Leaky Cauldron. It was perfect because, firstly, it connected Wizarding London to muggle London which meant that everyone had to have passed through at one point or the other and, secondly, it was a bar. Bars are prime spots for picking up the newest piece of gossip.

She had been working there for almost three months now and so far there hadn't been anything out of the ordinary. Or as ordinary the Wizarding world could ever be. Either way, it was damn boring. She had never even done any field work for Merlin's sake! Lily wouldn't say it out right, but she was hoping that Dumbledore would change her post.

She thought about the letter again and grinned happily. Her first official Order meeting.

Tuesday couldn't come fast enough.

Even though the note specifically said 6:30, Lily left the Leaky Cauldron at four and had apparated to Hogsmeade at five. A bit embarrassed by her over eagerness, she walked around for a bit, reminiscing the fun times she had there not months before with her friends, before finally heading over to the Three Broomsticks for a drink. When six o' clock finally rolled around, Lily realised that there was absolutely nothing else she could do to waste time so she started the tedious trek up to the familiar castle while nibbling on a sugar quill she bought from Honeydukes'.

In all honesty, she had not expected to be back within the castle's comforting wall so soon. She had graduated three months prior and had come to terms with the fact that, even though she was now part of the elite underground resistance, the Order of the Phoenix, she was not going to see the place that had been her home for the last seven years for a long while, and that was if she was lucky. A pang of nostalgia shot through her as she walked through the stone halls. She spoke with the some of the portraits who were delighted to see her here again and sometimes stopped and stared out of the windows at the grounds while memories, memories and more memories filled her mind.

So consumed she was in her thoughts was she, that she almost walked into a person.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, reeling backwards.

A low chuckle filled her ears as the person turned around. Lily's eyes widened of their own accord. Standing in front her was a tall and lean man with soot coloured messy hair, specs and a thin, but obvious, layer of muscle.

"S'okay," the man said, his eyes still glittering. He held out a hand for her to shake. "James Potter."

"Oh! Er- Lily Evans," she said, grasping his hand and shaking it, blushing slightly. "I remember you from school," she continued once their hands dropped and they started back walking. If she was not mistaken, the Headmaster's office should be at the end of that particular corridor.

"Really?" he asked, intrigued. "I thought you looked a bit familiar."

"Yeah; I was three years below you," Lily said. "My friends and I thought you were the most brilliant captain Gryffindor ever had." Along with the fact that you were the cutest, she added silently in her mind. She could not forget how her fellow dorm mates used to work themselves into a tizzy over 'totally fit Captain Potter.' Lily would acknowledge that he was good (and a bit cute) but it was nothing to cry home about. However, now that he was older, it was a different story. Lily had to stop herself from staring at him.

"I was, wasn't I," he said smugly, apparently reminiscing about his glory days. She refrained from rolling her eyes.

At this point they had come to a stop in front of the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office. "Do you by chance remember the password? Bloody paper burst into flames before I could memorise it," James grumbled a bit before smiling at her again (and inadvertently causing her to blush a bit once more.) If she was not mistaken, when they were in Hogwarts, Potter was a terrible, terrible flirt.

"Sugar quill," she replied, taking a bite of the sweet in question.

"Don't mind if I do," he said, plucking the candy from her hand and taking a bite of it as well. "Thanks." He grinned at her charmingly. Yep; he was still definitely a huge flirt.

"That was the password, you wanker!" shouted Lily, slapping him lightly on the shoulder and reclaiming her sweet. He chuckled once more at her antics.

"Well you should have been more specific," said James.

"You don't go and take it from someone's mouth. It's unhygienic," Lily sniffed disdainfully, though she couldn't help but soften her expression.

"I only take things from pretty girls like yourself, love," he replied, winking at her. Lily desperately tried to remain angry at him, but it was so hard to do so when he's looking at you in that stupidly adorable way of his.

"Oi Potter!" a new voice sounded from behind them. On instinct, they both turned around simultaneously and saw a pretty blonde witch stalking towards them with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. Lily recognised her as Marlene McKinnon, the witch having her been present at her induction those months ago. "Stop trying to charm your way into Evans' knickers and climb up the steps, will you? Some of us would like to be on time for the Order meeting," she said, rebuking him slightly. Turning to Lily, her face softened and she even smiled at her. "Hello Lily, dear. I do hope my prat of a nephew here isn't bothering you too much."

"Nephew?" Lily found herself repeating as she looked between the two of them. Marlene seemed to be only a few years older than James.

"Yep!" said James cheerily, throwing an arm around his aunt's shoulder. The height difference between the two was almost comical, as the top of Marlene's head barely brushed James' shoulder. "Aunty Marly here absolutely adores me."

"No I don't; you're miserable little child. Now hurry up; the meeting starts in five minutes." Marlene said the password to the gargoyle and it slid open with a groan to reveal the spiraling staircase. "Up you go, there's a good lad," she cooed as she ushered him up the steps. Lily could not help but laugh. It seemed so funny that Marlene who was almost a foot shorter than James could order him about and only receive 'Yes ma'am's,' in return. Lily silently suspected that the older woman took a certain amount of joy in this.

Dumbledore's office was filled with people- at least fifty- but the Headmaster himself was not there as yet. James left her and Marlene and went over to where a group of men his age that Lily faintly remembers as the Marauders- a group of notorious troublemakers that plagued the halls during their time. Lily and Marlene walked over to the other side of the room and seated themselves next to an older looking Wizarding of the name Caradoc Dearborn. Lily did not know anyone else here besides the Marauders and Marlene, so she felt a bit out of place when Marlene struck up conversation with Caradoc.

That feeling did not last too long however, as Caradoc soon looked over and began talking to her about what she was doing for the Order. Lily was a bit hesitant to reply (really, who wants to hear about disguising as a waitress in order to get information?) but when she told him, he and Marlene only laughed at her reluctance, telling her that that's where they all start off. He was quick to reassure her that she needn't have to worry about never getting to go out on the field as everyone had to take turns doing surveillance.

Soon after, the conversation erred to an attack that took place not too long ago and Lily felt herself drifting away from it and looking about the room. There were, she noted, several high profile aurors here, including Alastor Moody. He was riddled with scars and was even missing an eye. Apparently she had stared for too long because he turned his head and narrowed his eyes- both the fake one and his real one- at her. She sunk down a bit in her seat. It seemed as though being one of the most famous aurors came with a hefty price. She continued scanning the rest of the group and was delighted to see that there were just as many women as men present.

"What do you think about it, Lily?" asked Caradoc, jolting her out of daydreams.

"Sorry, what?" she replied, blushing slightly.

"The attack on the Edgehill family. Poor things," said Marlene. "They did nothing wrong. They only got killed because they were muggles."

"I read about it in the paper," mused Lily, thoughtfully gnawing on her bottom lip. "The muggles think it was because of a gas leak."

"Oh right!" said Marlene, slapping her forehead. "You're muggleborn, aren't you?"

Lily automatically got defensive. "Yes, I am," she said stiffly.

Marlene seemed to realise how the words came out and her eyes widened as she hastened to remedy the situation. "Oh Merlin, I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I'm sorry Lily. We don't think any less of someone being a muggleborn."

"S'alright," she shrugged. The conversation hung awkwardly in the air while Lily played with her fingers. Marlene looked as though she wanted to say something else, but refrained as the fire flared to life once more.

The quiet chatter of the room dimmed as there was the sudden whoosh of someone flooing in. Everyone stopped talking as Dumbledore stepped out of the flames, dusting soot off of his cornflower blue robes. He easily made his way to the front of the room and took a seat behind the imposing desk.

He smiled wearily at them. "I trust that you all had a good evening?" he said. He was rewarded with varying murmurs of assent. "Lovely."

The crowd quieted once more and watched up at him. Lily saw that no longer was anyone laughing and smiling- not even James Potter- but instead they all looked on soberly with the steely look of determination in their eyes.

"I just came from a meeting with the Minister who has assured me that his aurors are working assiduously to rid the world- both Wizarding and muggle alike- of the terror that is Lord Voldemort. Of course," he continued, "This is not anything that I did not already know." He paused in his speech to bow his head towards where Alastor Moody stood with several of his aurors. James had puffed out his chest proudly at the praise. "But for every reward we gain there are ten terrors popping right back up again for us to battle."

Dumbledore went on explaining some of the things that the Death Eaters had done and the things that the Order had done to minimize the damages or even sometimes the prevention of the entire situation on the whole.

Finally, he ended his speech telling them about a tip off he had received last Friday, the reason he called them to the meeting. It was on the whereabouts of a supposed Death Eater hideout and he wanted them to schedule a raid and hopefully take down the potential enemy cell.

"Leading this attack will be Alastor Moody," he said, gesturing to the auror. "He will lead a relatively small team- consisting of fourteen people at most- to the site. However, I will like for some, if not all of you to be on lookout for any sign that indicates that they need help." He then proceeded to call out a list of members he wished to be in the group and Lily was surprised to find her name there.

"My apologies, Miss Evans, for not introducing you," Dumbledore said to her before turning to the rest of the room. "Everyone, this is Miss Lily Evans, a recent graduate of Hogwarts and one of the most capable students I've ever seen." Lily felt herself blush slightly at his praise. "She's been in the Order since June and has been doing surveillance at the Leaky Cauldron." Lily did not know what to do as everyone turned towards her, so she stood awkwardly and smiled a bit as she gave them a half hearted wave.

She did not have to worry about being the subject of speculation for too long, as soon enough Dumbledore had called them back to attention to just go over a few more fine points before he dismissed them.

"Potter," Moody barked, pointing a gnarled hand at him as everyone exited. James noticed that Lily had looked up when his name was called and winked at her as he shot her a winning smile. Her cheeks turned rosy once more and she ducked her head, walking out quickly, almost banging her elbow on the doorframe on her way out. James realised that he rather liked being the one that made her blush. He walked over to Moody, his previous smile gone and hands stuffed in his pockets despite the fact that he wanted to have them fisted in his hair instead.

"Yes sir?" he asked, standing straight and looking at Moody with a serious expression.

"I want you on Evan's arse come Saturday," he ordered.

James smirked. "It would be my pleasure."

Moody hit him with a book on his head, causing James to wince. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Potter. I meant I want you with her every second when we attack. This is her first time going out on the field. She's inexperienced and you're one of our best fighters," said Moody grudgingly. "Wipe that grin off your face."

"Sorry," he said, ducking his head sheepishly. James looked up, serious once more. "If she's inexperienced, then why are we sending her?"

"Dumbledore thinks that she has 'potential'," the older man snorted. "Thinks she could handle herself, but I rather she not get blown to bits on her first assignment."

"Getting sentimental in your old age, Moody?" James grinned at his mentor.

The man simply grunted and said. "Get your arse out of here Potter before I curse off your bits. That should keep you away from Evans."

James paled and within seconds his heavy footfalls could have been heard as he ran down the steps, Moody's laughter following him the entire way.

"We were thinking of paying Rosmerta a visit. Want to join us?" asked Sirius once James emerged from the Headmaster's office.

"Sure," James replied. He suddenly caught sight of a flash of red hair and could not help himself from yelling out, "Hey Evans! Fancy a Butterbeer?" he called, causing the redhead to turn around (there was that blush again) and Marlene to roll her eyes.

"Er, no thanks," she said, smiling shyly.

James tried to not look too downtrodden at her response. "Alright then. See you around," he told her, grinning slightly.

He watched as she smiled back at him and walk out with Marlene. Sirius elbowed him in his ribs.

"Ow," muttered James, glaring at his best friend. "What was that?"

"What was that?" Sirius countered, walking off towards the bar, leaving James completely confused. He looked at Remus and Peter for answers, but the two of them shrugged, just as lost as he was at his mate's behaviour.

"So what did Moody want?" Remus asked once they were all seated around a worn wooden table in the corner sipping Butterbeers, or in Sirius' case, Firewhiskey.

"He wanted me to keep an eye out on Evans," James shrugged, taking a large pull of his amber coloured drink.

"I'm sure you'll have no problem at all doing that," said Sirius, chuckling lightly to himself. He was met with three blank faces. He rolled his eyes. "Never mind."

"I think you've had too much to drink, Padfoot," laughed James.

"Oh bugger off would you," Sirius snapped, grinning at him while he shoved his shoulder.

"Behave, would you," chided Remus.

"I'm sure Rosmerta would love to have her tables set on fire again," said Peter as he took a sip of his Firewhiskey. His eyes watered slightly as it burned his throat.

"Oi! That was one time!"

"One time too many," a saccharine voice said. Rosmerta came forward, her hips swaying slightly as she placed a basket of chips on their table. He smiled at Sirius and leant over to pinch his cheek.

"You're lucky; I only let you off because you're so adorable."

James groaned into his Butterbeer while also trying to conceal a grin. "Careful there, Rosie. His head mightn't be able to fit through the door later if you continue on like that."

"You're just jealous that Rosmerta likes Padfoot better than you, Prongs," teased Peter.

Both Sirius and Rosmerta laugh. "Prongs doesn't mind, does he?" said Sirius, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You boys are distracting me," said Rosmerta, as she fondly ruffled Remus' hair.

"I tend to have that effect on women," Sirius said smugly.

She laughed once more and said, "I'll be back later with another round of drinks; Remus, you're the responsible one here. Make sure he doesn't try to burn down anymore furniture."

"Will do," he said solemnly, though his lips twitched slightly. After a few more teasing remarks from the pretty barmaid, she left the Marauders' table.

"No more Firewhiskey for you tonight," said James. "We do not need another happening of the end of year party we had in sixth year."

They all laugh at the memories and soon, they were recounting the greatest tales of their lives at Hogwarts well after their drinks were done. It was only when Peter announced that he was leaving did the rest of them do so as well.

I'm trying this new thing where I don't procrastinate mainly because this is only going to have five or six chapters at most and they'll all be relatively short (4000 words around there) So you should probably remind me to not procrastinate by reviewing...